Chapter Eight and Nine Questions

U.S. Government

Name _______________________
Use Chapter 8 to help answer the following:

Section 1: describes what political parties are, what they do, and what it means to be a party member. This section also discusses the development of the American two-party system and the role of third parties.

Define “political party” –



Describe each system below and give an example of each:
“one-party” – ________________________________________________________
example-_________________________

“two-party” – ________________________________________________________
example-_________________________

“three-party” – ________________________________________________________
example-_________________________


Why is the U.S. considered to have a two-party system?




What have been the two main parties of the 20th century, and what major event marked the shift of power between them?



What are the three types of “third” parties? Give an example of each.
1.
2.
3.

What impact have third parties had on national politics?




Name at least two obstacles to the national success of third parties.




Define the following:

Ideology-


Proportional representation-


Coalition government-





Chapter 9

Section 2:
What are the four major influences on how a voter votes?
1. 3.
2. 4.

Cite at least four elements making up a voter’s personal background
1. 3.
2. 4.

Cite at least one example of how issues and image has swayed a presidential election
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Section 3:
What movement and amendment resulted in the vote for women?


To whom did the 15th Amendment (1870) give the right to vote?


List three discriminatory practices ended by the Voting Rights Acts.
1.
2.
3.

What were the two main results of the Voting Rights Acts for African Americans?
1.
2.

Section 4:
What are the two voting requirements other than citizenship?
1.
2.

Why are the two requirements listed above necessary?



Cite at least two reasons people fail to vote?
1.
2.

What are three important factors that affect whether or not someone votes regularly?
1.
2.
3.

Why has the voting rate in the United States decreased? Cite at least two reasons.
1.
2.

List three proposals for increasing voter turnout.
1.
2.
3.

What two procedures increase voter turnout significantly because they give citizens the chance to participate directly in the legislative process?
1.
2.